Ice Blues - A Donald Strachey Mystery

The series of four made-for-television Donald Strachey mysteries have all been first class affairs, made on a limited budget but featuring tight little whodunits featuring a fine line-up of actors giving believable and involving performances in their roles. The last one filmed and shown in 2008 is only now coming to home video: Ice Blues. It’s not as crackerjack a mystery as A Shock to the System, and it doesn’t feature any well known names in the supporting cast as the previous ones did (Sean Young, Morgan Fairchild, Margot Kidder). In fact, the mystery element of Ice Blues is its least interesting aspect; involving the lead detective’s life partner directly into the murder and mayhem is what separates Ice Blues from the other three Strachey movies and gives it a unique flavor all its own.

After appropriations get pulled for a youth help program in New York state, senator’s aide Timothy Callahan (Sebastian Spence) goes looking for $3 million in donations to keep the program going. He’s approached by lawyer Jake Lenigan (Jason Poulsen) who hands him $3 million in bearer bonds from an anonymous donor, but the next morning Lenigan’s body is found dead in the car of Callahan’s domestic partner Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) with a note demanding the return of the bonds. With his detective boy friend now investigating the murder, Tim gets pulled into the case as hit men led by the vicious Somerville (Adrian Holmes) invade their home. Don’s investigation uncovers the corrupt law firm of Lenigan and Lenigan whose major client is the mob-tied Frank Zaillian (Sebastien Roberts), but no one at the law firm is talking; they have their own secrets they’re protecting. With the mob hot on their trail looking for the money, Don and Tim must do all they can to stay alive until Don can get to the bottom of the mystery.

Ice Blues is the first of the Strachey film mysteries that doesn’t directly or indirectly involve a gay theme. The relationship between Don and Tim is taken for granted by the gays and straights in their orbit, but this is a story involving family betrayal, child pornography, and secrets old and new, none of which involve homosexuality. Ron McGee’s script has taken some of the basic plot from the novel by Richard Stevenson, but the adaptation definitely goes its own way much of the time which is fine for a film on a limited budget necessitating a smaller cast of characters. Ron Oliver, having helmed all of the movies in this series, has a sure hand with the material, guiding the story through its chases and confrontations with a minimalist’s style but a fine sense of pace and mood. It’s a less labyrinthine puzzle than the last film On the Other Hand, Death, but the revelation of the killer is almost an afterthought (other themes seem pushed more up front throughout the movie); the threats to the gentle Tim and his constant need to stay out of harm’s way as well as Don’s promise to a teen to keep her safe give the movie its suspenseful impetus rather than the usual focus on a solution to the crime.

The entire Donald Strachey stock company of actors returns for this fourth installment, and they’re all utterly at home with these endearing roles. Chad Allen makes for a delightfully dogged Donald Strachey, and Sebastian Spence as his loving mate is wonderfully at ease in the part. Nelson Wong continues to infuse the series with humor and common sense as the plucky executive assistant Kenny Wong while Daryl Shuttleworth gives gruff police detective Bub Bailey some softer edges this time around. Sebastien Roberts makes for a decent snarling villain, and Myron Natwick matches him sneer for sneer as the shady lawyer Brian Lenigan. It’s nice to see Sherry Miller (who played Justin’s mother all those years on Queer as Folk) turn up as the mother of the victim with secrets of her own.

Video Quality

The film has been framed at 1.78:1, and the transfer is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. All of the Strachey films have had desaturated color schemes, and this one is no different, all toward giving the movie a noirish feel about it. It’s certainly sharp and clear and clean though one will notice some aliasing in some tight line structures in buildings and the fabrics of clothes. The film has been divided into 12 chapters.

Audio Quality

The disc offers both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio options. Due to the series’ limited budget, there really isn’t enough surround activity (apart from Peter Allen’s delightful music) to warrant a full surround encode, and the 2.0 stereo option (which is a bit louder) is actually a more immersive mix when decoded by Dolby Prologic IIx. Dialogue is nicely recorded and comes through loud and clear in the center channel. There is a bit of distortion when sound levels rise during the film’s climactic confrontations.

Special Features

The film’s trailer is presented in nonanamorphic letterbox and runs for 2 minutes.

A making-of-the-movie featurette presents interviews with all of the central cast and director Ron Oliver. All express their delight with working on the series and the comfort levels they all experience when taking on these familiar roles. All the actors praise their director as a fun-loving worker who makes performing in these films an absolute pleasure. It’s presented in nonanamorphic letterbox and runs for 24 minutes.

There are trailers for Leather Jacket Love Story and Murder in Fashion.

In Conclusion

Ice Blues is an entertaining addition to the Donald Strachey mystery series (sadly no more have yet been produced). With familiar characters performed by actors who created the roles in the original film in the series, fans should be delighted to add this movie to their collections. Recommended!

Matt Hough

Charlotte, NC